The walls of Sam Chinniah’s office are bare. His papers are tucked away to the side of his desk, and don’t even bother looking for framed graduate degrees, certificates or family photos.

The flashiest item you can associate with this 49-year-old senior vice president of T.E. Financial Consultants Ltd. in Toronto (a subsidiary of Toronto-based Jovian Capital Corp. ) on this day is his pumpkin-orange tie, which stands out against his navy-blue suit.

Maintaining a toned-down appearance is intentional, says Chinniah, a certified financial planner, Canadian investment manager and fee-only advisor who specializes in serving ultra-high net-worth clients. “I want people to take me at face value,” he says, “not because of letters to my name or by how wealthy I am.”

Although some advisors may get caught up in trying to impress their millionaire clients through expensive cars and suits, Chinniah believes showing off with material goods would only detract from his credibility as an advisor.

“When I speak to a CEO, I’m relating to him, person to person, to find out what he needs most,” Chinniah says. “It’s not about finding a connection over materialistic assets.”

For Chinniah, connecting with clients is entirely a matter of honesty. That can mean telling clients the blunt truth about their financial and personal affairs. “A lot of people are afraid to give wealthy clients guidance or tell them what the right thing to do is because they are intimidated by their money,” he says. “Sometimes my clients may not agree with what I have to say, but they respect it and know it’s for their own benefit.”

Being a straight shooter has enabled Chinniah to build a $250-million book of wealth-management business at T.E. Financial over the past 12 years. His typical client has $1.5 million to $2 million in investible assets; his richest client has a net worth of $500 million, although Chinniah doesn’t manage all of that client’s assets. Regardless of the asset level, the goal is always the same, says Chinniah: he is committed to preserving his clients’ capital.

“Once you’ve worked hard and earned all this money, it’s important to build the high wall and the high fences,” Chinniah says, “so the money can grow inside those walls.”

Financial affairs of the wealthy are complicated, Chinniah says. These may involve dealing with large estates, trusts, business ownership, charitable foundations and other issues not common to middle-income clients. That is why Chinniah finds himself looking at a wide range of factors in each client’s professional and personal life, including the complications of blended families.

Wealthy widowers are often vulnerable to romantic partners who are more interested in inheriting a fortune than in cultivating a relationship.

“Money always complicates relationships,” Chinniah says. “It’s important to teach clients to protect their wealth, but also ensure that the rights of everyone involved are respected.”

After presenting his advice, Chinniah usually calls the client’s other relevant professionals, such as his or her lawyer and accountant, to ensure that his advice is put into action.

Chinniah’s commitment to providing a high level of service for his clients could be attributed to his sociable personality: “I always knew I loved working with people and really enjoyed being around people and helping people.”

Yet finance was not Chinniah’s first career choice. He arrived in Canada from Sri Lanka in 1981 to study medicine. A few years after graduating from the University of Toronto with a degree in microbiology, he realized medicine wasn’t for him. “I decided, after working in a hospital for a couple of years,” says Chinniah, “that I’d better find something else.”

He took a few personal finance courses through U of T’s continuing education department and decided to pursue a career in financial services. “When I found financial management by accident, I was quite amazed. It is similar to medicine,” he says. “When a patient visits the doctor for a physical, the doctor sees everything about the entire body. When you are doing total wealth management, you are a kind of a doctor who sees everything that is going on in people’s lives.”

Since joining T.E. Financial in 1997, Chinniah has built a client base of 150 households from scratch — without using any promotional materials or formal marketing strategies. His business has grown entirely from referrals, including inter-generational family referrals.

@page_break@“One client who was on his deathbed called all his kids and made them promise to come see me,” Chinniah says. “That’s how much trust and respect [he had].”

Chinniah has found that clients often confide in him in the first meeting. “I’m a very good listener, and I find people naturally open up to me,” he says. “They tell me way more than I need to hear sometimes.”

Chinniah uses a questioning technique called DOS: dangers, opportunities and strengths. He ask clients to tell him their top three worries; the top three financial opportunities they would like to exploit; and their top three personal strengths.

“It helps me understand who they are and what they want to achieve,” Chinniah says. “Sometimes, people can’t articulate their position well. And these questions help me identify and draw out their goals.”

As for Chinniah’s own goals, he hopes to buy a winter home on the east coast of Florida by April of next year. Until then, Chinniah, a Nature lover at heart, often spends his spare time biking, hiking, and travelling with his wife and 16-year-old daughter whenever he can. IE